Turnagain Pass and Girdwood

Sunny skies with a few clouds and light winds are expected today that will likely contribute towards generally stable avalanche conditions. That being said, recognizing that unexpected things happen in the mountains and managing risk is essential, especially on lower danger days. Keep an eye out for lingering wind slabs on steep slopes. These will likely be small but may have higher consequences in steep rocky terrain. Watch out for loose “sluff” avalanches and the potential for glide avalanches.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The Avalanche Rescue Workshop at Glen Alps has been POSTPONED to Sunday, February 9th.  The workshop is free and all experience levels are welcome. Click HERE for more information.

It's not too late to catch us on our brewery tour this week. The Girdwood Brewery is hosting us tomorrow for a conversation about the world of snow and avalanches:

• Forecaster Chat - Thursday, February 6th, 6-7:30 p.m. at Girdwood Brewing Co. in Girdwood. Andrew Schauer will discuss recent CNFAC research and highlight ways it can help your backcountry game. Details HERE.

The winds picked up a bit yesterday likely making a new batch of small wind slabs. More about this below. Otherwise, it has been nearly five days of amazing weather that has contributed to generally stable snowpack conditions in Turnagain Pass. That being said, the snowpack in Crow Creek and Johnson Pass/Silvertip area may not be as stable and warrant a bit of caution should you find yourself in these zones. Slopes affected by the sun and warm temperatures may have a thin sun crust on the surface today that may not melt. Look out for dry loose "sluff' avalanches on steep slopes shaded from the sun if you are looking to avoid sun effected slopes.

Wind Slab Avalanches: Lingering wind slabs from yesterday's winds will likely be small and harder to trigger today. The bigger concern would be if a wind slab carries a human into rocks or off a cliff. Keep this in mind especially if you plan on getting into the alpine today. Terrain features with hollow sounding snow and shooting cracks are clues you have found a wind slab. 

Glide Avalanches: Glide cracks are showing themselves again in Turnagain Pass and in Summit Lake with the most recent glide avalanche occurring on February 4 south of Turnagain Pass. Try to avoid spending time under them or consider another objective where this hazard does not exist. 

Cornices: Cornice falls are less likely today but could be a concern if someone wanders on to one. Give them a lot of room when you are traveling on ridges. 

Safe Travel: Remember your training. When recreating in the mountains unexpected things happen especially when we let our guard down. Low avalanches does not mean no avalanches. Good travel protocol such as spacing out and exposing one person at a time on steep slopes on the way down is the safest way to move in the backcountry.  

Recent Avalanches: Glide activity is making a slow comeback with one reported two days ago at the south end of Turnagain Pass and glide cracks spotted in Summit Lake. The inversion over the past few days and sunny weather was responsible for small loose wet avalanches at higher elevations on steep solar slopes. About a week ago there was a human triggered wind slab avalanche in Lynx Creek.